Maui Brewing Co. restaurant wins design award

Maui Brewing Company was recently honored at the concluding gala of the 2018 Design Symposium in Honolulu. During the event, held Nov. 15 at Bishop Museum, American Institute of Architects Honolulu announced the 60th annual Design Award winners from the best of 44 recently completed and yet-to-be-built architectural projects.

AIA‘s Awards of Merit were presented to exemplary design projects and architects. The two big winners were Maui Brewing Company Restaurant of Kihei by WCIT Architecture, and Park Lane Ala Moana of Kakaako by Solomon Cordwell Buenz with Benjamin Woo Architects. Awards of Merit, as well as honorable mention, were determined by a panel of jurors from AIA Seattle.

The local chapter of the American Institute of Architects’ Design Awards program is Hawai‘i’s oldest architectural recognition of its type. Residential, commercial/industrial, institutional, interior architecture, and unbuilt projects designed by AIA Honolulu member architects were eligible for consideration. The projects in competition were as varied as educational complexes, restaurants, stores, single-family residences, luxury condominiums, resorts, and office buildings located across Hawai‘i and from as far afield as Tibet and Mexico.

The Mayor’s Choice Award was presented to the Visitor Education Hale at Manoa Heritage Center in O‘ahu, by architect Geoffrey Lewis. The People’s Choice Award went to King’s Hawaiian Corporate Offices in California. The 12th annual People’s Choice Award is the only design award honor determined by popular vote; Mayor Kirk Caldwell selected the Mayor’s Choice Award from all entries.

The Sustainable Design Award was presented for the first time during annual awards gala. The award – in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council Hawai‘i – recognizes the project that best integrates design excellence with environmental performance. The inaugural Sustainable Design Award went to New Operations Center of American Samoa Power Authority by Lively Architects.

To mark its 60th year, the honors were presented as part of the 2018 Design Symposium alongside the AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Design Awards. The 2018 Design Symposium brought design professionals, public officials, nonprofit organizers, and interested members of the public together to forge a collective voice and create a better shared community.

It gathered creative architects, landscape architects, planners, and other design professionals in Hawai‘i and throughout the Northwest and Pacific Region to explore the theme “Building Voices: Livable Cities and Communities” through both public and industry-focused events from Nov. 13-15.

The 2018 Design Symposium was the second in the four-part series called “Building Voices,” which was launched in 2017 by AIA Honolulu and the School of Architecture at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.